This weekend could be one of the most important for the Nichols family of Urbana.
The family is holding a fundraiser that could get them to the goal necessary to help their son, Christian, in a big way.
Christian, 9, is the son of Brandon and Sarah Nichols, and has Angelman Syndrome, which he was diagnosed with in 2005. Last year, Christian was approved to receive a specially trained dog through 4 Paws for Ability of Xenia.
The family is just $1,200 shy of the needed $13,000 to have the dog trained and hope to raise those last dollars during the West Liberty Labor Day Festival, which takes place Sept. 5-7 at Lions Park.
They started their fundraising venture at last year's festival and raised almost $1,200 from it, said Mr. Nichols. Since that time they have held numerous functions to raise the needed funds.
In addition to their efforts, a couple of unexpected donations have come their way.
Special donations
The Nichols family was one of two families chosen to be recipients of funds raised by Wrestling Against Autism - a statewide wrestling tournament that took place in Columbus in May at St. John's Arena.
Nichols said the organization sent a check for $3,000 to 4 Paws for Ability toward the training of Christian's dog.
Around the same time, they were contacted by the owner of Petland in Piqua, who had heard Christian's story. The store has committed to covering all costs involved with the training of Christian and his family with his new dog, which equals about $4,000, he said.
"That just totally blew us away," Nichols said. "I was completely speechless, and I am very rarely without words."
After that donation, the family is left with just $1,218 to raise toward the training of the dog, which takes 10 months. After the dog is trained, the family will travel to Xenia for two weeks to be trained to handle and maintain the dog's special skills.
Weekend events
The Nichols family will be set up Saturday, Sunday and Monday during the festival beginning around 9 a.m. They will raffle off numerous items that have been donated to them.
There will be separate raffles for a jersey and a football, both autographed by A.J. Hawk.
During this time there will be a silent auction, Nichols said. The silent auction begins with the first e-mail sent to him and continues until 3 p.m. Monday. This auction is for a large golf package that includes the following: remainder of 2009 pass at Forest Hills Golf Club in Springfield; four 18-hole rounds with cart from Tree Links Golf Course in Bellefontaine; two 18-hole rounds with cart from each of the following - Windy Knoll Golf Club of Springfield, Woodland Golf Course of Urbana, Lakeland Golf Course of St. Paris, Timberview Golf Course of Marysville, Troy Country Club of Troy and Shelby Oaks Golf Club of Sidney. This package has a value of around $650, Nichols said.
To participate in the silent auction, send an e-mail to angelmansguy@gmail.com and include the preferred contact method for the auction, whether it be phone, text or e-mail. Mr. Nichols and family friend Becky Hill will be available by the listed methods to accept bids and update current auction status. The bidding will increase in whole dollar increments only.
Nichols said the amount needed to train the dog "didn't even seem attainable at first." He said his family has met some remarkable people in the last year and it has shown them that there is still plenty of good in the world.
He said they would like to make the West Liberty event an annual raffle, to help other families. He looks forward to having Christian with his dog at next year's festival.
"This changes these children's lives forever," he said of the trained dogs through 4 Paws for Ability. He said, however, that it also impacts the community around them.
To learn more on how to donate items or make monetary donations, contact Brandon Nichols at 638-6641 or angelmansguy@gmail.com or Becky Hill at 308-1418.
Beth Deere can be reached at bdeere@urbanacitizen.com
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